Program Overview

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Communication Arts, PhD

The Department of Communication Arts at the University of WisconsinMadison has long been one of the world's leading centers for study and research in communication. It was the first department in the United States to award a PhD degree in the field, and its graduates serve on the faculties of leading universities, in research institutions, and in public and private agencies throughout this country and abroad.

Program Overview

The graduate programs in communication arts are designed to educate research scholars. Through intensive coursework within the department and in other departments, and through close professional association with appropriate faculty, graduate students in communication arts gain proficiency and sophistication in their chosen areas of study. Their attainment of doctoral degrees signifies their readiness to work as independent scholars in their areas and to make original contributions to human knowledge.

Areas of Graduate Study

Communication Arts offers four distinct areas of graduate study:

• Communication Science
• Film
• Media and Cultural Studies
• Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture

Communication Science

Communication science is concerned with how people interact with one another in various means, modes, and contexts. It involves social scientific exploration utilizing both quantitative and qualitative methods. Students in communication science typically complete coursework both in the department and in other social science fields. Graduate study in communication science is flexible and tailored to the individual.

Film

The study of film concentrates primarily on motion picture history, theory, and criticism, approached through intensive critical analysis of individual films; research into the primary documents of filmmakers and the film industry; and the construction of theoretical models of film forms and styles, national cinemas, film genres, and the economics of the film industry.

Media and Cultural Studies

The media and cultural studies (MCS) program emphasizes the study of media in their historical, economic, social, and political context. MCS courses examine the cultural forms created and disseminated by media industries and the ways in which they resonate in everyday life, on the individual, national, and global level.

Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture

The study of discourse explores significant themes, trajectories, and transformations in politics and society while considering particular individuals and groups, cultures, eras, genres, and topics. Courses in this area explore issues of power, digital media, citizenship, gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, globalization, religion, inclusion and exclusion, social status, and marginalization.

Admissions

Graduate admissions is a two-step process between academic programs and the Graduate School. Applicants must meet the minimum requirements of the Graduate School as well as the program(s). Once you have researched the graduate program(s) you are interested in, apply online.

• Fall Deadline: December 15
• Spring Deadline: This program does not admit in the spring.
• Summer Deadline: This program does not admit in the summer.
• GRE (Graduate Record Examinations): Not required but may be considered if available.
• English Proficiency Test: Every applicant whose native language is not English, or whose undergraduate instruction was not exclusively in English, must provide an English proficiency test score earned within two years of the anticipated term of enrollment.
• Letters of Recommendation Required: 3

Funding

The Bursars Office provides information about tuition and fees associated with being a graduate student. Resources to help you afford graduate study might include assistantships, fellowships, traineeships, and financial aid. Further funding information is available from the Graduate School. Be sure to check with your program for individual policies and restrictions related to funding.

Requirements

Mode of Instruction

• Face to Face: Yes
• Evening/Weekend: No
• Online: No
• Hybrid: No
• Accelerated: No

Curricular Requirements

• Minimum Credit Requirement: 51 credits
• Minimum Residence Credit Requirement: 40 credits
• Minimum Graduate Coursework Requirement: 26 credits must be graduate-level coursework.
• Overall Graduate GPA Requirement: 3.00 GPA required.
• Other Grade Requirements: 3.5 average required of all coursework taken within the department.

Assessments and Examinations

To assess satisfactory progress toward the degree and to facilitate determinations of good standing, graduate students must complete a Professional Activities Report (PAR) each spring.

Policies

Prior Coursework

With program approval, students are allowed to transfer no more than 9 credits of graduate coursework from other institutions.

Probation

All graduate students must stay "in good standing" in the department to be eligible for teaching assignments, awards, and fellowships, and in order to be considered to be making satisfactory progress in the program.

Advisor / Committee

Although an initial faculty advisor is assigned to each student during the summer prior to matriculation in the graduate program, students should seek out regular advisors by the end of their first year in residence.

Credits Per Term Allowed

10-credit maximum unless additional credits are approved by faculty advisor, up to 15.

Time Limits

A candidate for a doctoral degree who fails to take the final oral examination and deposit the dissertation within five years after passing the preliminary examination may be required to take another preliminary examination and to be admitted to candidacy a second time.

Professional Development

Graduate School Resources

Take advantage of the Graduate School's professional development resources to build skills, thrive academically, and launch your career.

Department Resources for Professional Development

Two important departmental resources for professional development are a graduate students advisor and the department colloquia.

Learning Outcomes

1. Articulates research problems, potentials, and limits with respect to theory, knowledge, or practice within the field of study.
2. Formulates ideas, concepts, designs, and/or techniques beyond the current boundaries of knowledge within the field of study.
3. Creates research, scholarship, or performance that makes a substantive contribution.
4. Demonstrates breadth within their learning experiences.
5. Advances contributions of the field of study to society.
6. Communicates complex ideas in a clear and understandable manner.
7. Fosters ethical and professional conduct.